The Act Of
by Beckon
Summary: He had a spirit that couldn't be tamed and an attitude that wouldn't quit. She should've known better then to expect he came back for no reason.
1. Chapter 1

The hot midday sun pressed down harshly against the back of her neck, the one place her fitting outfit had failed to cover. Fingers reached up to try and adjust the red tie around her neck, hoping to position it over the burning inches of skin in time to keep from earning a red, painful mark. Her long strands of hair had been pulled back to keep them out of her face while she tried to work; small blisters felt like they were forming over her callous hands as she kept the slightly bent tool tight in her grasp. With the summer months already present and the warmer weather nearly making them all sick, she had to keep a careful eye on the flourishing garden. She had to make sure to keep the weeds from overflowing and taking the nutrition from their crops; it made her back hurt, her hands bleed and blistered her skin but… at the end of the day, it was all hard work that was necessary to do.

With momma still nursing a twisted ankle from a fall in the barn, she had to help pick up the extra chores and keep things running. She was the first one up at dawn and the last one to tuck everyone else into bed, picking up things and cleaning just before she went under the covers herself. Her sisters laughed and said that it must've been all the fighting that gave her the strength and stamina to keep working; that kept her constantly moving and busy all at the same time. While they insisted on several breaks throughout the day, she had yet to do so herself… but they kept the house going and made sure momma didn't stress her ankle too much.

She actually kind of preferred to do the yard work rather than handle the housework inside; she was much better out here, dealing with difficult tasks rather than worrying about getting dishes cleaned. So perhaps her time as a soldier had given her a new found strength and helped to build up her physique… it was something she was proud of. As dangerous as it had been on the battlefield with strangers wishing nothing more than to make her die for her country, she would still pick up her weapon if there was another call for it. It was pride and loyalty that convinced her to stay with the local militia and work out the occasional rise of conflict, nothing more than a few arguments really… nothing as violent as it used to be. Which she was glad for. Those times of conflict were behind them now, and she was looking forward to a peaceful future for once.

"Nephenee! Nephenee!"

She glanced up at the multiple calls of her name, watching as three figures came bouncing through the growing fields. While they were just a mere blur for a few yards, she was already wondering what her brothers had gotten themselves into. Setting her tool aside, she waited for them to come closer and took note of the look of pure excitement on their faces. "And just what did you three get yourselves into?"

The triplets only seemed to grin back at her in answer- something she wasn't entirely sure how to take; their messy clothing only seemed to prove that they were taking a bit more fun with their chores- perhaps she shouldn't have given them the choice of cleaning the barn. They probably spent most of the day chasing around whatever kind of critters had settled in there, no doubt trying to find the biggest spider or snake or… whatever they could get their hands on.

"There's a guy here to see you." one of them answered.

"Yeah, he said he knew you." the second one added.

A brief frown caught onto the corners of her lips before she looked past them and tried to see if she could spot anyone coming up the long walk to the house; her eyes weren't able to see past the small apple orchard that stood in her way.

"He looked really cool." her third brother finally spoke. "He had a scar on his face."

She nodded briefly before she moved to wedge the small shovel into the soft dirt underfoot; keeping it in place without her hand on it. Her brothers were only nine… they really would've found any stranger to be 'cool' with little regard to who the man was. "Alright, I'll go down and meet with him, in the meantime you three go clean up; lunch will be ready soon enough and you ain't tracking dirt into the house."

"Aw, can't we go see him with you?"

"Let me just see who this man is first." she replied as she ushered the three of them back to the house before she turned to the dirt path that winded down the long opening field that took up a majority of their property. She was still surprised they had managed to find such an open and perfect lot when they moved to Melior. It was nearly two fold their last house and was even in near perfect condition… it had always felt like they hit the jackpot with it. Pushing her way through the waist-high wheat field, she emerged onto the sloping trail and slowly moved to follow it down to the road at the end of the fence, just behind the orchard field. Hands lightly smoothed out the white sundress that was fitted around her body, trying not to smear any speck of dirt that might've collected on her fingers and would've loved to stain the easy material. She tugged lightly on her dark stockings that had been slipped on to keep her legs from burning and also to keep them warm during the cooler mornings. It wasn't like she was exactly dressed to meet anybody but then again, she wasn't expecting anyone either. More than likely, it was probably just Brom dropping by for a quick visit on his way to town… although her brothers had seen him plenty of times before… and he didn't have a scar on his face either. So, who could it have been?

She tried not to let herself fall into the possibility that it was the green-haired Warrior she had found herself attached to during not one War, but two. It was only disappointment that would await her after all… while she decided to settle down and work the farm with her mother, he continued to serve with the Mercenaries. He went all over Tellius, as though they hadn't done so plenty of times before, but she had to admit that the aspect was always appealing when it came to the Mercenaries; they knew no bounds between countries and while a few of them had stepped aside to follow their own agendas, the group still traveled together now and again. They were more like legends now, although none of them would admit to such a title… they were all too humble and meek for that. And while she would've liked to continue on with them now and again, she had too many things to attend to here; her mother couldn't handle her two sisters and triplet brothers by herself without some assistance… and she didn't want to leave her wondering again if she was ever going to come back home after the War was through. Her letters home had all been saved and tied together because her mother was too afraid to throw them out.

"_I didn't want to throw away the last words you could've said to me." _she always remarked; a gentle smile on her face whenever she thumbed through the folded papers.

But he… well, he was a spirit that couldn't be tamed and while they shared their War-flung romance again and again, this was a time they had to make a choice. It had been almost four weeks since she had last seen him, not a long period of time by any means but long enough for her to realize the absence of his presence on some nights; to realize the lack of warmth from his body whenever he pulled her in closer to him, or the lack of laughter that followed the sometimes stupid things he said on impulse. He was off somewhere with the Mercenaries once more and she had wished him a good time and to come back in one piece- to even write if he was gone longer than expected. She figured since no letters arrived with his name on them, then he was merely enjoying himself out there. He would come back when he was through… but she had disappointed herself again and again whenever a guest arrived at their gates and it wasn't him.

It was easier to merely look at it with a clear mind and no expectations.

Besides, he didn't have a scar on his face either.

Rounding around the small orchard of trees, she reached up briefly and skimmed fingertips across one of the growing bulbs; in a month or so time, they'd be out here with baskets to collect the apple harvest. Maybe she could convince momma to finally teach her the secrets to her apple pie recipe although she imagined that the woman would merely laugh and tell her to wait one more year. Like she always did.

Her eyes eventually moved to where the trail ended out onto the road just beyond their wooden fence; her sight landing on a horse and its rider standing solitarily just to the outside of the property. She frowned once again at the unknown form and tried not to let her curiosity get the best of her. It appeared as though the figure was wearing a hood, masking his identity to start with… which was odd.

Pushing the wrinkles from her outfit once more, she moved closer to the figure until her presence eventually startled the horse into a small snort and a shake of the head. "Uh… excuse me, is there something I can help ya with?"

Her voice seemed to have caught the man off-guard as he jumped briefly before he turned around to her; fingers grasping part of the hood before he peeled it back and let the material bundle around his neck. She heard herself gasp lightly at the familiar shade of green hair that was pushed away from his forehead; the recognizable slightly chiseled appearance of his jaw and the unevenness at the bridge of his nose where it had been broken once before. It appeared as though her constant let downs and repressed expectations were finally coming back to relieve her.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could help me find someone. I knew her awhile back and the only thing I can really remember is how outrageously beautiful she was; also, she has the best set of legs in all of Tellius. Have you seen anyone like that around?"

She bit into her lower lip for a moment before she found herself lightly laughing at his act; surprised that he had even managed to keep a straight face throughout the whole play. "No, I reckon I haven't seen anyone like that around here before. You might wanna keep looking up the road though, town's just around the next corner. Someone there might be able to help ya."

Her response was enough to break his façade as a broad grin made its way on his lips. He moved close enough to her where he could set his hands on her hips and lift her off her feet. "Are you certain? Because I'm sure you look just like her. Especially in the legs compartment."

Shaking her head, she moved her hands to his wide shoulders and felt the way he spun her around; the brisk afternoon air toying with the hem of her sundress at the motion. "Boyd, why are ya wearin' a hood and makin' yourself at the top of my brothers' list?"

"What? This old thing? I got this during one of our runs in Begnion, they said it would protect my head in the sun and it does. I will give them that." he answered; giving her one more spin before he brought her in against his chest. "Now what's this about me being at the top of your brothers' list?"

"They told me some 'cool' looking man was waiting for me, one who had a scar on his face." Nephenee noted; moving her head to one side as she tried to get a better look at his face.

He turned his head slightly just the same to reveal the paste-white tissue that had formed over the curve of his jaw on the left side. "This? Nah, I got this during a minor skirmish; Rhys said it would heal completely in a few weeks, the scar is only temporary. At least, that's what he told me… he could've been lying."

Fingertips reached out and touched lightly at the mark, feeling the smooth cross of flesh and hardened tissue underneath her. "It don't really matter I suppose, those boys will find anything to talk about."

"Well it's nice to know I'm the talk of the town now." he grinned. "What do you say… we go give them something else to talk about."

"What do ya mean?" she questioned before she felt the way he moved to hold her in a more appropriate bridal style of carrying; holding her tightly against his chest as he moved back up the trail she had just taken to get down here. "They'll have a set of heart attacks if you tell 'em one of your stories."

"Great, because I have plenty."

He insisted on carrying her all the way back up the trail despite her protest for such an act. He did fill her in on all the events since his last visit; detailing their different runs and all the creative people they had ran into during their travels. There was an answer for every question and he spared no expense in skimping on the details, preferring to tell her every last bit of the action. Although when she questioned him about the horse, seeing as he didn't ride nor own one, he merely replied that it was his brother's… but wouldn't go into detail as to whether his brother knew that he had borrowed it or not. She didn't press the matter seeing as she felt she knew the answer anyways.

She looked up as the house eventually came into sight and they were making steady progress towards it. Seeing as none of her brothers were outside, she could only hope that they had actually listened to her this time and didn't decide to sneak up on them. "So… be honest, what are ya up to?"

"Well… I decided to take a break from the Mercenaries for awhile." he admitted; shifting his arms slightly to reposition her against his chest. "So, I figured if I'm going to be sticking around for a little while longer, then I should probably get to know the locals- and your family while I'm at it."

"So suddenly you decided this?" she questioned.

"Ah well, it also occurred to me that you had basically fought alongside my only family while I hardly know anything about yours. It just didn't seem fair."

She shook her head once again and made the motion to slip out of his arms, partly thankful to be back on his feet. "Normally, I would've cursed you for being so sudden… but since you already got my brothers riled up, I might as well introduce ya. They've heard plenty about ya anyways."

"So you told them about all the times I charmed you with my acts of bravery and ravished your eyes with my body."

It was difficult to hide a slight snicker from her lips as she pulled him up the front porch of the simple cottage. Deciding it would be safer to not reply, she pushed through the front door and stepped into the small room on the other side. "Momma, there's a guest here who would like to meet ya!"

"Is it that man your brothers are going off about?" her mother called from the back of the house; the sound of dishes clinging together proved that she was still standing on her injured ankle despite constant insisting of not to.

"Is it? Is it?"

The sound of feet sliding on the hardwood floors and stomping towards them only said that her brothers were more than eagerly on their way to greet her and this new guest. She offered him a brief smile and gave a slight shrug as the triplets came around the nearest corner, heading out of the conjoining living room. "Ah, yes, you could say that."

"What are you? Are you a Barbarian?"

"Where'd ya get that cool scar?"

"How do ya know Nephenee?"

"Oh come now, give him some space and quit with the roughhousing." Nephenee ushered, attempting to calm down the small crowd of boys.

He grinned briefly at the sudden onslaught of questions; laughing at how the smaller kids seemed to be fighting amongst each other to be answered first. "Nah, it's alright, I know what it's like to be in a group of three brothers and hating two of them."

She shot him a glance that told him he wasn't helping the situation and quickly ushered the triplets to move into the next room once more. "He'll answer your questions later, I promise… but first, I think momma would like to speak with him."

"So this is the fine young man Nephenee's been going off about." the woman spoke as she eventually stepped out of the kitchen in the back; drying off her hands on the dirty apron that remained tied around her waist. Her green hair was pulled back into a tight bun and revealed the long hours of hard work that formed on her once gentle face. She was a slim woman, which was easy to see where her eldest daughter had gotten her bountiful physique from. "You look exactly how she described you to be."

"She does have a good eye for details." he chuckled.

She felt a brief hint of a blush make its way across her face before she quickly noticed her sisters peek out from the kitchen; both of them were grinning before they stepped out to join in on the introductions. "Yes, this is the man I was talking about in my letters… this is Boyd."

"Ooh Nephenee, how did you manage to get such a good looking man?" her sister quipped with a playful smile.

"I ask myself the same thing too." he remarked; chuckling lightly before he felt the way her elbow made its way into his open side. "Hmph, anyways uh… well I know this is sudden, with me showing up and all, but I just got back from a run with the Mercenaries. And I figured, there would be no other greater sense of timing than right now."

"I told you he was a Mercenary!"

"You did not!"

She shook her head at the quick fight that ensued between the trio before she moved in to separate them. "I thought I told ya before that he was a Mercenary. We ran together during the Wars… he often times saved my back."

"But not nearly as many times as she saved my neck." Boyd reminded before he moved to step around where she was still trying to break the boys apart. "I get the feeling that everyone has plenty of questions but… I just want to get mine out of the way ahead of time so I don't rush anyone else later. Ah well… I can't say that I actually have this whole thing planned out in any manner, so… I'm just going to come out and say it as best I can. Ma'am, I am furiously in love with your daughter and I would like to ask for your blessing to take her hand in marriage."


	2. Chapter 2

The fighting between her brothers stopped the instance the question was thrown into the air; her sisters ceased dead in their tracks just about the same before they quickly snapped around towards one another as though to question what they just heard. She wished she could've gotten a second chance to listen to his words just to make sure there was a good reason for her heart to be stopping in her chest. Even her mother seemed just a bit taken aback and ready to fall off her injured ankle, most of the color easily drained from her face.

To say that the next few minutes were obstructed by pure silence was being a bit courteous. She was almost certain the house had never been that quiet before, or at least she had never witnessed her brothers being quiet for this long of a period of time. She had yet to even bring herself to turn completely around towards him, not entirely sure of how to handle the situation as it was.

"You know, I'm not gonna lie to you, the silence is really killing me here." He started as one hand moved to cup the back of his neck; he was trying not to give in to that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was terrible at the waiting game, especially with something like this... not to say that he had ever gone through something like this before. It was still pretty nerve-wrecking though. "I mean, if you need to take your time and think of an answer, take however long you need… but Oscar's going to notice his horse missing soon enough and he'll probably be pissed; it probably doesn't help that I didn't tell him I was doing any of this, so that's probably going to make things even worse."

And just like that, the silence was broken.

"Say yes, momma, say yes!" her sisters seemed to scream in unison; tugging on the sleeves of her beige blouse.

It seemed to take the woman a moment before she even noticed the dual tugs on both arms; her mind still trying to comprehend what had just happened moments before that fueled the erratic behavior from her sisters. "Oh uh… well, you know… Nephenee always talked about you but… not in that kind of manner. You always came off sounding like a nice young man though." Her mother stammered slightly, barely raising one hand to brush aside her graying strands of hair. "Well… this will ultimately be Nephenee's choice but… if you wish to have my blessing, then you have it."

"Now, just wait just a minute… ya can't be serious." Nephenee started; finally breaking her silence on the whole matter before the moment was taken away from her.

"Oh come on, Neph'!" her brothers shouted as one; each one of them pulling on the hem of her dress now as they surrounded her again. "He's so cool!"

She frowned briefly before she turned to set her sight on him once more and watched as he could only offer a brief grin in response. A few waves of her hands easily brushed the triplets aside to give her a small amount of comfort space. Closing her eyes, she shook her head lightly and moved her hands to her hips; letting a moment or two go by to let her smaller brothers calm down all over again. Of all the things he could've said or done... this was it. She eventually opened her eyes and set them on him for a second time. "Well, isn't there something for ya to ask me?"

"Are you mad?"

"Something other than that."

"Oh, yeah…"

She heard him chuckle lightly at himself before he gradually made his way over to her; her brothers quickly separating at his approach. She pulled her arms up to cross over her chest and felt the way his eyes tried to find her own from underneath her hanging bangs. "Ya know, I have a feeling of slight dislike for ya right now."

"I know, I know, I put you on the spot and you hate me for it- but you gotta admit, this isn't easy for me either." He reminded, admitting the brief emotion just this once. There was a draw for a deep breath from his chest before he slowly let it out. "But you know, I didn't take that last Mercenary mission for nothing- I also didn't get this scar for nothing either."

She watched as he moved one hand into his jacket pocket before he seemed to fumble around for a moment, as though he lost something within the small confines. "Ya serious about this?"

"What? You didn't think I was? Why does everyone assume that I lie all the time?" he chuckled, eventually pulling out the small silver band he had been searching for. "Believe me, this would've been really extravagant for a prank- even for me, although it would've be hilarious too. But, I am serious. I even went and asked Ike for his advice on picking out a ring- which I know I didn't really have your size but I figured I held your hand so many times that I could make a decent guess on it."

"Boyd…"

"You know, I can see why the whole matter seems rushed and it doesn't seem believable-"

She leaned forward slightly and looked up to where his eyes seemed to be solely focused on the ring in his hold. "Ya still haven't asked me properly yet."

Well, she did have a point... "Ah… you're right… okay, well uh…- you know this was a lot easier when I was just asking for a blessing, I figured the risk of rejection would be easier to deal with that way since it wasn't a direct answer-"

"You're rambling."

"Yeah well I was pretty confident in myself until you got mad and now I'm thinking I already know the answer." He replied in mock defense before he slowly moved to take her hands in his own. Oh man, this was the final moment. "But you know what, I'm going to go for it anyways, so I would just like to ask you, Lady Nephenee, for your hand in marriage. Will you marry me?"

She ducked her head down slightly at the question that seemed to take forever just to get out of him before she brought it back up a few moments later; feeling the way his grip tightened against her at the delaying motion. "Ya really know how to surprise a girl, I'll give ya that. But, for all those times and all those battles we went in together… I can't think of any other answer for ya, Sir Boyd… so yes."

It took a few brief seconds before he released the heavy breath from his chest, glad to finally have the pain gone from his sternum. "Those were the longest minutes of my life, but let's at least make it official for now." He replied as he took her left hand and lifted it up; carefully fitting the silver band around her third finger. "Please tell me it fits."

"Ah, I dunno." She started as she pulled her hand closer and looked the band over for a moment. "Momma, can you come look at this?"

The older woman shuffled her steps lightly as she walked over to the two; one hand lightly taking the offered hand of her daughter before she pulled it in closer for examination. "Well… it sure looks like it fits to me. What do ya two think?" she called back to the younger daughters behind her.

The two rushed forward at the first chance to get a glimpse at the piece of jewelry.

"It fits you perfectly."

"I can't believe you said yes!"

"To be honest, if she didn't say yes, I don't know what I would've done." He chuckled, stepping aside for a moment to give her space to be with for her mother and sisters. "I probably would've taken my axe to something... just saying."

She shook her head at his humored remark and looked at the ring once more as though to assure herself that it was indeed on her own finger. "I think it's settled… it's perfect."

Her mother smiled at the brief exchange between the two before she moved to place her hands against her tired hips. "Now then, tell me uh… Boyd, are there any family members of yours we should have probably met with first?"

The question brought his attention back towards the other woman and also reminded him of the seemingly spontaneous act he had decided upon this morning to do- without the acknowledgement from either of his brothers; Ike was really the only person who knew and he considered the blue-haired man to be something of a third brother and that seemed close enough. A brief, nervous grin made its way across his face as he tried for an answer. "Uh well… there's just two of them really… but you do raise a good point. I probably should have informed them of this whole ordeal before I jumped into it."

"Are they as cool as you?" one of her brothers questioned.

"What? Nah, no one's cooler than me." he briefly assured." I mean, one of them's just a wannabe archer and… the other is a Crimean Royal Knight... again- you know what, they don't really matter right now."


	3. Chapter 3

Unfortunately enough, he was only able to stay with her family for a little while longer before he had to excuse himself. He just really needed to head back before anyone noticed his absence and questioned him about it; unless it was Ike, in which case they'd probably celebrate a little bit before he had to go and inform the other two about it.

He found himself actually hesitating just a bit as he stood at front of the door to the decent-sized house they had purchased just after the second War; well it was more of a gift from the Crimean palace for their involvement against Begnion. He had his own place not too far from here that was nice, if not somewhat extravagant for being a mere 'gift' for something they were going to have to get involved with anyways. Still, every now and again, he felt the need to drop by for a visit or two... because even with the difficult time they had functioning around one another, they didn't like to keep away for too long of a period either.

He would never be the one to admit it but… during one of the battles against the Begnion forces, the tide was turning against them and Oscar had taken a really bad hit… he couldn't forget the thought process that followed that battle; he was pretty sure he actually made himself sick from the worry alone. It was kind of one of those moments where you realize that not everyone lived forever and at any given time, the person next to you could be ripped away. Of course, his older brother pulled through with only a few scars but still… it was enough to convince him to drop by again and again for a short visit.

Still, he had a feeling that after he explained the whole ordeal… Oscar was probably going to kill him. There was no doubt about that.

Pushing through the front door, he started to call out for one or two of his brothers but stopped himself when he noticed the both of them in the front sitting area. The smaller, lighter-haired boy was seated in one of the hand-carved chairs that actually matched the table in the kitchen but had apparently been dragged into the sitting area instead; his darker haired counterpart was standing partly behind him with a wet rag pressed against his forehead.

"Hey, I told you if you kept eating dirt, you'd eventually hit your head on something." He started, unable to stop himself from making a comment on the situation.

"Shut up, Boyd, you're the dirt monkey here." Rolf retorted with equal speed in his words.

"Oh yeah, well at least-"

"Please, can you two cut it out? You haven't even been in the same room for ten seconds." The older of the three started as a brief sigh escaped him; his free hand briefly squeezing the empty space between his eyes.

"Yeah well… that's enough time for me- especially around pipsqueak here." Boyd replied; watching as the last-word comment forced a brief wrinkle across the younger boy's nose. "Now then, do I even want to know what happened with him?"

The question only seemed to force another sigh from the man as he carefully pulled the rag away for a moment to examine the wound underneath; the facial expression that followed seemed to hint at the severity of the injury as he carefully placed the rag back in place. "Ugh, there was just a minor… accident earlier."

"He was moving a few of his lances to outside and when he turned around, one of them hit me." Rolf answered; pointing to the spot on his forehead that was covered.

"Ha ha, that's hilarious- you're a terrible person, Oscar." Boyd chuckled as he pushed the door closed behind him; taking note that the older man seemed to go out of his way to ignore him at this point- he figured he kind of deserved it though. "That reminds me, do you care if I borrow your horse for a while?"

"If it'll get you out of my hair, then yes."

"Okay good, because I borrowed it three hours ago... I'm kind of surprised you didn't notice." He remarked.

"Three hours ago… I was busy… I think."

He knew when the other man was no longer paying all too much attention to anyone; he was probably more focused on other matters right now- like his upcoming shift with the Royal Knights. That did seem just a bit more important than anything else. Well on top of Rolf's new head injury there, but he figured it would've done more good than anything else for the kid. "Yeah, I uh… I went out to visit Nephenee and met with her family for a little bit."

"That's nice, how's she doing these days? Last I heard she moved over to Melior."

"She's doing good, their land looks really nice and everyone seems settled in. But uh… you know, she's uh… she's engaged now."

"Is that so?... I guess that might be a little disappointing for you, I know you two were close."

He tried to figure out a way to phrase and/or time his answer to ease it in as best he could but decided to go with it to make it as blunt as possible. "Ah… actually funny that you should mention that, you see… I was the one who asked her to… marry. Me in specifics."

The whole silent matter from before with her family after his question didn't really compare to the one that followed his answer. For a moment, he kind of wished one of them would've freaked out or said something… although they both usually remained silent regardless of what was going on or what had happened. He couldn't really recall his older brother even saying anything when Daein had invaded Crimea years before or even saying a word about the Goddess when she was awakened.

Still, something, some kind of word or facial expression would've been great.

If anything, after the momentary silence, it seemed to finally catch the attention of his younger brother first; making him instantly forget about the pain of his injury. His eyes narrowed briefly and the corners of his lips tucked downward in questioning. "Why would she want to marry you?"

Okay then again, the silence would've been better.

"I'm going to make you wish your head was the same!" he remarked as he made a lunge at the kid; watching as he struggled to get out of the way before impact.

In one easy motion, Oscar managed to get between them and pushed the smaller brother behind him before he successfully managed to grab him by the face to stop his lunge. A deeper sigh escaped him for a moment- which usually didn't mean anything good. "Rolf, I think I saw Mist out earlier, why don't you go try and find her? She could do a much better job at healing this than I could."

"I don't think it would be wise to leave dirt monkey here alone with someone like Mist for an extended period of time." Boyd started.

"Well at least I won't come back married!"

He watched as the kid quickly took off around the outer side of the room to keep the space between them at a maximum before he disappeared outside. "Ooh, he just had to get the last word in, didn't he? When he gets back, he's going to wish he still had that head injury."

"Boyd, leave Rolf alone. It's no wonder he gets so nervous when you drop by to visit." Oscar replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, well at least we don't need Rhys here all the time, so you have to admit that we've gotten better." He remarked. In the past, it wasn't uncommon for the usual annoying teases to turn rather... serious; he remembered how the red-haired Healer always promised not to tell Oscar about it... but somehow the whole truth of the matter always came out in the end of it. He always blamed Rolf for not being able to keep his mouth closed. "Now then, if you don't mind, can you let go of my face? Your hand smells like leather polisher and I think I'm about to pass out."

"I'm waiting to get my thoughts together a little more on this whole matter."

"Can't you just tell me that I'm fucked?"

"That would be too easy now, wouldn't it? And it wouldn't scare you as much."

He frowned and decided to let the matter be suppressed into silence all over again. This time it seemed even tenser and he was feeling certain that this whole situation wasn't going to end well. No clue why but the feeling was there- then again, that kind of feeling always popped up for no reason... like when he had to face Nephenee and ask her personally about the whole getting married thing. He seriously thought that whole thing was going to go downhill in a hand basket of some sort. "Hey, you're not going to hit me like you did Rolf, are you?"

He felt his grip tightened slightly before he finally let it drop away for good. Still, his face remained fairly unmoved and expressionless, completely hiding whatever it was that he was feeling; completely shielding and shutting down every aspect of reading his emotions. If there as anything to hate about the man, that was probably the one thing that he really, really hated the most- he was impossible to read and it was impossible to tell what his next action was going to be. Was it going to be a complete freak out or maybe just a sense of disappointment?

"Did you even think this through?"

Okay, so that question was a little tame but it still managed to spark a small nerve of annoyance. A light scoff caught the edge of his lips and was followed shortly by a roll of the eyes. "No, I just woke up this morning and thought 'hey, you know what would be a great idea today? If I stole your horse and rode over to Nephenee's place and give her mother a heart attack.' Yes, that is exactly how my thought process went along. How stupid do you think- on second thought, don't answer that." he probably didn't need the sarcasm in his words, but it was hard as hell to avoid throwing it in there; he took a moment and a short breath to recollect himself. "The fact of the matter is… yes. Surprisingly enough, I've been thinking about this for a long time now... I just didn't tell anyone about it."

Still nothing.

"Alright."

The single word seemed to do more damage than actual good.

"What? Just alright? That's all you have to say?" Boyd questioned, finding himself almost disappointed by the reaction. "There's no freaking out or blowing up or… or… you know… it's just alright? Nothing else?"

He pinched at the empty space between his eyes once more before he gave a shake of his head; holding his hands up for a moment as though to give up reigns on the conversation. "Well that just tells me that you actually did put thought into the matter, although probably more so into the consequences of it instead. And while I would have preferred if you had brought this up maybe once or even joked with the idea of it… it was your decision; I would hope that you're mature enough to make decisions like that without needing me. And if not… well you've already made your choice and I can't really help you with that."

That... did sound like something he would say, one of his 'honest' answers with the carefully picked out words. He still waited a moment as though expecting a second wave, or some kind of hidden backlash- which was a little ridiculous to think of right now. "Okay so… just for clarification, you're not mad, or anything?"

For the first time yet, that stoic expression broke as a brief chuckle moved from him. "Are you kidding? I'm surprised she said yes in the first place."

"Oh very funny." He retorted as he moved one hand to ruffle through his hair. "Just for your information, her brothers think I'm cool."

"Well someone has to agree with you I suppose."


	4. Chapter 4

"Do I even want to know what ya have planned?"

He grinned lightly at the question and held his hands up to help her down from the carriage; feeling the familiar weight of her body settling against his palms. He considered just holding her like that for a few more minutes just to tease her, but then he thought better of it. "It's nothing, why do you always suspect I have something planned? I told you, the whole proposal thing was the only thing I was going to do without your acknowledgement."

For some reason, she felt like there was a need to disbelieve in that statement- especially knowing him.

"Uh huh." Nephenee slowly nodded as he placed her back on the ground; hands gently moved to brush the wrinkles out of her dress. She moved to cross her arms for a moment and watched as he moved to help whoever was next out of the carriage. Something about his attitude and overall... actions just didn't seem to suit well for being 'just a simple matter' kind of deal with him. "So just what are we doing here then?"

"Yeah, why are we all the way out here?" one of her brothers questioned as he came next out the carriage door; leaping out without so much as looking at the ground below him.

He chuckled to himself at the mixed enthusiasm, mostly between her brothers, who were all excited, and her who... well was probably more suspicious than anything else. Then again, with his recent actions, he supposed she had good reasons to be. And he may or may not have something up his sleeve about the whole thing. "Well, I'll tell you why. We came all the way out here because this is where the Crimean Royal Knights themselves train and hold these weird kind of contests against each other."

"Are we gonna see a Knight?" another one of her brothers called as he leaped out next.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I promise. In fact, if we hurry, we'll be able to see the start of the show." He continued; watching as the small confirmation was enough to send the trio already racing off to the nearby fence line.

"You really stirred them up this time." Her sister laughed.

Nephenee watched as he helped both of her sisters out of the carriage before they went off to round up the boys- who were more than likely causing more chaos outside of her range. "What kind of show are we gonna be watchin' anyways?"

"It's not really a whole lot, most of the time they just race each other around an obstacle course and pick up these little rings with their lances; whoever has the most rings combined with the obstacle course points, wins. It's kind of a mix between being entertaining and wondering if that's all they do all day." Boyd answered. "Which, I'll admit, while it's kind of majestic and awe seeing... you really can't help but to wonder if they just do this when they're bored. I mean, these are the same guys who ran headfirst across a battlefield expecting death, either for them or another soldier... and they're picking up rings now?"

"Well, it all sounds exciting to me." Her mother smiled as she pushed herself up from her seat in the carriage and followed the path everyone else had taken to get out; gladly taking the hand that was offered to her as she slowly stepped down to the ground below. She tugged on the loose scarf she had tied around her shoulders before she moved to look after the parading group of sons and daughters, all of whom were jumping around one another. "I've always wanted to see one of these shows."

She waited for her mother to have taken a few extra steps onward before she looked back to him; watching as he closed the carriage door before he turned back to her and offered his arm once more. "Okay so… what is this?"

"Ah well… I figured your family wanted to meet my family so… I brought them here." He slowly answered; feeling the way she carefully slipped her arm into the curve of his own. "It'll be fun, I promise."

It only took her a short while before she understood what he meant; chuckling lightly to herself at the quiet realization. "I see… so ya brother's contestin' today then. Ya really tryin' to make a good impression, ain't ya?"

"Well I figured after my dramatic entrance, it'd be difficult to introduce such a lame family any other way." He shrugged playfully as he walked her over to where the rest of her family seemed to be bouncing about- with the exception of her mother, who was trying to get them all under control instead. The sitting area was only a few yards away and yet everyone seemed more content with standing here by the fence, which in all honesty was the best place to see the action- unless a horse went wild and hit it, like last time. There were a few other viewers who were seated and provided small conversations to one another just before the games were to begin; the stands were normally packed this time of day though, so he suspected that the others would soon be here at a last minute's haste. "Oscar's been practicing all week though; I think he's in third or fourth place right now."

"He lookin' to get a new place then?"

"You see, the funny thing with Oscar is… he's not a competitive person; he usually just competes in these things because someone wants him to. I think it was Geoffrey who convinced him to do it the first time and then after that it's just been Kieran. Constantly."

Knowing how those two usually functioned around one another- or at least how Kieran was ever so persistent with competing against the other, it was no doubt that he only continued to do these shows because of him; or risk never hearing the end of it. "Still keepin' that grudge then?"

"I don't know what you would call it but yeah, it's still there; it's been years but it's still active."

"I bet Oscar really enjoys that."

Another quiet chuckle escaped him as he gave a light shrug. "He purposely injured himself the last time so he could skip a few rounds." Eventually reaching where the rest of her family was, he looked out across the field and noticed that someone seemed to have altered the obstacle course; which, he guessed, kept it from getting boring at least. Then again, he didn't see anything exciting about chasing little rings across the field either. "Now I think they're only running two people in this show for today- the last time they tried three, there was a snake on the field and one of the horses got spooked; needless to say it was absolute mayhem. They took out a portion of the fence and the rider got knocked off and everything."

"Who's riding? Do you know?" one of her sisters questioned as she pulled herself up onto the first stock of the fence; leaning over the side of it for a moment to get a closer look at the field.

"I don't know the other contestant, but… my older brother's going to be out here." He answered.

"Are you serious?" her second sister asked as she mimicked the other and stood up on the fence, choosing the second stock instead to get a better look at the layout. There were about six different jumps to take and a few that would require some kind of... weaving motion perhaps?

"Which one is he going to be?" the youngest of her brothers requested.

"Don't worry, he's easy to spot; he's got a gimp leg." He replied before he felt the woman at his side dig her elbow into the soft portion underneath his ribcage once more. Personally, he felt the motion was uncalled for and looked over to her for an explanation. "What?"

She had partly pressed her lips together to show her playful agitation, a motion he seemed to toy himself with as though wondering if she was being serious with it or not. "Don't lie about your brother to my brothers." She corrected. "Besides, he'll be on horseback, you wouldn't be able to see a gimp even if he had one."

"What are you talking about? He really has one, I swear." He defended, only to see that she didn't seem to believe him in the least bit. "He's broken his right leg three times in his life; he's just getting really good at hiding the limp. I think he has extra padding in his boot, but I'm not sure how he does it since I never really see him do anything about it. It's hilarious during the colder months though because that's when it gets really bad and he tries not to put pressure on it."

"Three times? My goodness." Her mother remarked with a soft, barely audible gasp. "Were all of the breaks from the wars?"

He gave it a short moment before he answered, slowly at first though. "The last one was; one of the enemy fire mages managed to scorch the side of his horse and he ended up getting thrown off. If I remember it correctly, he smashed his shin on part of a half-emerged boulder and the bone almost broke the skin; you could see it moving underneath the muscle and everything. I think I almost threw up."

One of her sisters turned around slightly at the answer; her brow a little wrinkled with questioning."How did he get the first two then?"

Oh yeah, Oscar was definitely going to hate him for sharing these stories... but they were eventually going to have to be told anyways. Especially if they had a winter wedding, ah that would be hilarious because then he couldn't hide it; he'd probably ruin it though by just sitting the entire time. "Well, the first one was from me actually; we got in a fight when we were younger and I pushed him down into an embankment. I didn't mean it and I certainly didn't think it would break the bone... but that was like twelve years ago and he still hasn't forgiven me for it. The second time was because of Rolf, who was stupid enough to climb up a tree he couldn't get down when he was like six and Oscar had to go up and get him; unfortunately one of the branches snapped underneath him and he fell a few yards to the ground below. Ugh, he smashed his leg against an upturn root… next thing you know, there was blood all over the place; the bone actually pierced the skin and was sticking out and everything. To be honest, I'm surprised he can still walk on the damn thing. I like to remind him that he's lucky to still have it, but he always gives me one of those looks that remind me that I was a part of those breakages and he's not going to let me forget that."

She listened to him carefully and watched how he seemed to go through the memories in the back of his head; occasionally changing his expressions when he recalled the images of broken bones and blood. It hit her then and there that she had never heard of those words before. "… Ya never told me that." Nephenee remarked.

"I didn't want you to think he was the cooler one." Boyd shrugged partly before he listened to the sounds of horns blaring in the distance. "The show's starting up, just remember to look for the gimp one."

* * *

><p>The show had been a mix of well-placed acrobats and jumps as the two competing riders stormed the entire course in an attempt to displace the other in terms of points. Personally, he had seen it all before and had seen the both of them survive out on the battlefield so... you know, picking up rings wasn't all too exciting to watch. But he tried to keep up with the excitement of the crowd around him as they cheered on the knights. From what he could take from the course and from what he knew about the rules, it seemed like the points were shifting between the two with every jump or ring. He figured Oscar didn't really care for the competition and seeing as how his opponent was none other than Kieran himself, to no surprise honesty, he probably wasn't willing to enhance their rivalry anymore than it already was.<p>

The last run was highlighted by a warning call of a horn and pushed for the riders to step up their game just a tad bit. Perhaps maybe too much in some instances though. There was a collective gasp as the last turn around the course was taken too sharply by one of the riders and their horses collided in a harsh moment of impact. He winced as he watched his brother get knocked off course and spin for a moment before he managed to pull himself back together to finish the run.

"Oh goodness, is he okay?" her mother questioned, one hand moving to cover her mouth at the sudden interaction.

"I'm sure he's fine." Boyd assured as he watched the two riders exit the field, which allowed for another crew to come in to start cleaning up the course. Pushing himself to his feet, he started to maneuver his way around the crowd and tried not to lose his balance off the stands. "I'll go check in on him and see if he's... calm."

"Where do the riders go?" her brother questioned as he managed to squeeze past them.

"There's a designated area just outside of the course they're supposed to wait in until the judges come back with the scores. Let's hope they keep them separated this time around." he replied as he leaped off the side of the stands. "You guys just wait here and don't break the stands, they're sensitive."

She chuckled lightly as she watched him slowly take his way across the field to find out where his brother was. Again, she figured she should have guessed that he would plan something like this, that he would choose to entertain her family as such and then ease in with the family introductions. Well... as long as he was positive about introducing the two of his brothers then it all couldn't possibly go wrong... actually it still could- especially knowing him.

Working his way around the running course, he watched as the cleaning crew moved the different jumping posts to the outer bounds of the fence for easier pick up later on. Most of them seemed to be talking of other topics though, which he couldn't really blame them since these competitions were always boring as hell. One hand moved to run through his hair as he easily spotted where his brother had separated from the course and was waiting now; he had already dismounted and was in the middle of tying the reigns to a nearby post for security purposes.

"You know, you'd probably make a better run if you opened your eyes."

Hands reached up and quickly removed his helmet before he easily tossed it aside; finding the rush of cool air against his heated skin as it chilled the beads of sweat that ran down his face all the more relaxing. He ruffled through his partly matted locks and ran the back of his hand across his brow to keep some of the sweat from running into his eyes. His whole body felt like it was aching, more so from the heat than anything else. "Shut up Boyd."

"I'm just trying to give out suggestions for a better performance-"

"Refer to my previous statement then." Oscar interrupted as he went to work on unbuckling the leather saddle that might've been put on a bit too tightly beforehand; lifting the heavy piece of equipment, he moved to settle it on the same post that creaked slightly as though unsure if it could withstand the weight. "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you said these races were 'boring' and 'uninteresting' and that 'you had better ways to spend your time, like watching grass grow-'"

Of course he would bring that up at a time like this... even if it was true. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the point. Look uh… there's some people here that want to meet you… I don't know how they learned about you or why they would even want to give you that kind of recognition but-"

"It's Nephenee's family isn't it?"

"… Yes, how did you know?"

He went on to pull loose the dark-green, decorative drapes that had been settled underneath the saddle and slowly folded them to toss over the post just the same. "Well I figured it looked a little suspicious for you to be sitting around with a large group of people who all look similar to one another." He remarked. "Not to mention, this would be an ideal setting anyways for one of your… lesser thought out plans."

While that was partly true, he was curious as to how he managed to figure that out. "Which means…?"

"Let me put it this way for you, to make it easier to translate, I just got finished running a thirty minute obstacle course in full armor in the summer heat. Not to mention, during those last few seconds of the course, I got blindsided and nearly hit the fence because Kieran lost his grip on the reigns. I'm really not in any shape or form to meet with someone right now… but you're going to make me do it anyways."

Yeah, that was pretty easy to follow. "You're right, I can't deny that. But, you know, her little brothers are here and when I mentioned that you were a Royal Knight, they pretty much flipped out. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to take them to one of your boring competitions; if it's worth mentioning, they really liked the part where you got blindsided. They were all like 'what is he? Blind-' no wait, actually that was just me. In which case, I probably would've answered yes if we were in talking in terms of you but-"

"Oh yeah, I really enjoyed that part too." he remarked. "I may or may not have said a few selective words to Kieran in the moment so I'm hoping he doesn't think I'm taking him up on another challenge."

"He probably will, just saying." Boyd offered with a brief shrug. "But you could always fake another injury to get out of it; tell him that when he blindsided you, he messed your leg back up or you know, injured your horse. Anything would work."

He gave a brief nod as though in consideration before he moved one hand through his hair, releasing a heavy sigh with the motion. "Alright… come on, I guess I'll go meet with her family while they're here. Rolf should be around here somewhere-"

"Oh don't worry, I told them I only had one brother."

"That's funny, that's what I tell people all the time too."

"… Well I hope it's in reference to me." He remarked before he turned to start back to where her family was slowly getting off of the stands; her sister leaning up against the fence once more as they watched the cleaning crews take the field apart piece by piece. Again, he didn't really think the whole thing was all too interesting, but seeing how none of them had really watched a show like that before, it must've been like magic to them. And judging from the way her brothers were bouncing around his bride-to-be once more, something must've been said or something happened that he missed out on. Her mother seemed to only look on with a sense of laughter as she gently waved whatever matter had been said aside. It was still kind of odd to witness such a happy and functioning family... one where everyone worked together and there was some sense of love in the moment. It only kind of reminded him of their own flaws but hopefully this kind of union between them would open up a new page. Getting closer to the small knit family, he watched as her brothers instantly snapped around at their approach while her sisters giggled on from a distance. "Alright, alright one at a time- but me first. So this is-"

"You were so cool out there!"

"How did you train your horse to do all of that?"

"Did you win?"

And like clockwork, the trio easily abandoned their sister and rushed over to them instead; bouncing and shouting out all sorts of questions.

"Careful, he's got some minor hearing loss in one ear." Boyd started as he managed to swoop down and get two of them in his arms, easily lifting them off the ground for a moment. "But we'll start with introductions first and then you three can bombard him with any and all questions you have. Alright, so these three here are Irving, Erik and Lorne- I'm not really sure which one's which at this point; they move like a herd though so I don't really think it matters, I mean you call one name and they all come running. Now, over there you've got lovely Hina and lovely Yuina- Hina is the taller one and Yunia is the one in pigtails. And this is lady right here is Ms. Beryl. And over here, you've got Nephenee… who you already know actually… but there she is anyways. She said your run out there was terrible-"

"I did not!" Nephenee quickly defended, watching as he only laughed at her response.

"I'm sorry about that, you'll have to mind the boys- they get a little carried away sometimes." Her mother chuckled lightly before she held out her hand. "You must be Oscar."

"It's quite alright, I've had to deal with Boyd for years now, you get used to it." He remarked; feeling the noted brother force his elbow just underneath his ribcage. He carefully took her hand and finished the gesture. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Beryl- given the specific circumstances."

Another soft laugh escaped her as she moved to adjust the scarf around her neck once more. "Well it's good to know I wasn't the only one caught off-guard by this whole proposal. Still, it's a joyous matter that I'm sure we're all looking forward to-"

"Hey, is this your gimp leg?" one of her brothers interrupted.

"Ah, Irving! Ya can't go around askin' people that." Nephenee scolded lightly, noting that the younger of the trio didn't even seem to find anything wrong with the question. She shook her head lightly in mild embarrassment before she turned her attention back towards the paladin. "I'm sorry about that, he doesn't know when ta control himself."

Part of himself wasn't surprised that that topic was brought up, and yet the other half mentally sighed and shook his head. "Really? You had to share that story?" Oscar questioned as he turned slightly towards his middle brother; watching as the man only offered a brief shrug in response.

"Uh… stories actually, you did break it three times after all." Boyd corrected as he struggled slightly to keep a hold on Erik and Lorne before he decided that the two had fought enough to deserve their freedom. "I mean, I was there for like... all of them."

"Did it hurt?" Lorne asked as he moved to mat his light-green hair back down.

"The first time it did, but then you realize that it couldn't possibly hurt as much as someone else's stupidity."


	5. Chapter 5

They have given themselves months to plan, thinking that that would be enough time for them. After all, it wasn't like they had much family outside of their immediate relatives and they both shared the same group of friends pretty much... and yet, it felt like they ran down to the very last day with planning. It was just going to be a small ceremony in the open fields behind her farmland, it was wide enough to provide space for everyone and keep the whole ordeal private; she was going to wear her mother's old wedding gown while he bought a new suit from the local tailor. Invitations had been sent out in a timely manner and they had their checklist completely marked off by the end of it all...

And yet, it still felt like it wasn't happening.

It just felt so strange when the day had finally arrived; waking up that morning, it felt just like any other day... but by that afternoon, everything was going to be so different.

Fingers fumbled slightly with the tie he was forced to wear as he tried to find a comfortable place to tuck it in underneath his jacket. It felt like it was trying to choke him but Oscar insisted that it be a little bit tight seeing as he would ruin it if it wasn't. And he couldn't really defend himself on that one, he'd probably end up grabbing it by accident and ripping it clean off somehow- fate always just seemed to do that to him.

"I never imagined something like this would eventually happen."

He pulled his attention away from his tie and looked over to the blue-haired man who stood next to him; hands moving through the careful ritual of tying his own tie before he adjusted the fit of it underneath his collar. Looking to the mirror in front of them, he guessed that they did look a little odd standing here in matching suits and fixed hairstyles. For once, neither of them were equipped with a sword or axe, they were both missing the armor they usually carried on one shoulder and... well the suits just did not seem all the visually-appealing on them. It was hard to dress up a Mercenary to look like a civilized being. "I think I would've predicted the Goddess battle over something like this any day."

A brief chuckle left the other man before he moved one hand to ruffle through his blue locks. "Well... I gotta say, when you asked me to help you pick out a ring, I didn't exactly picture this actually happening. I mean, you know, a ring is one thing but a wedding and a wife... that's something different; that's something... I never imagined you doing. It feels like yesterday you were making fun of me during practices and pushing me into thorn bushes."

"Hey, in my defense, you were the rookie and it was really easy to push you around since I was bigger." Boyd defended. "But hey, look at what became of you. You run the Mercenaries, you won two wars and defeated the Goddess herself, you should be thanking me for giving you a hard time. And don't even think you were easy to put up with either, you pushed me into that frozen creek in the middle of winter-"

"I didn't know the ice was going to break." Ike replied. "Maybe if your head hadn't been so big, it wouldn't have cracked."

"Oh, well then in that case, I'm all the more glad that that window broke when your stupid face hit it." he countered.

"And I don't regret breaking your arm during that one practice round-"

"I would hardly call it broken."

Another chuckle escaped the other man as he moved to clap one hand against his back. "You'll make a fine husband and, while the thought is frightening, I think you'll turn out to be a great father too... just don't push your kids into thorn bushes; I still have scars from that."

He laughed at the remark and moved to get the blue-haired man in a headlock. "Well, whenever you decide to have that huge, formal wedding yourself, remember who got you there. And remember that I chose for you to be my best man, I expect you to return that favor."

"I'm afraid of what your speech would be." Ike started as he managed to loop his arm under the other man's and get him in a return headlock. "You'll probably bring up something embarrassing and everyone will laugh... and I'll be forced to kill you in front of everyone, in which case you would ruin my wedding."

"You're telling me that your speech doesn't have some kind of laughing element in it that will make me want to kill you? I sharpened my axe for nothing?" Boyd questioned, tightening his hold for a moment.

"You could always cut the cake with it."

"I already brought that up and Nephenee shot it down."

The touch of someone's hand coming down to rest on their shoulders interrupted their conversation for a moment and brought their attention to the woman it belonged to. The red-haired, former Paladin only shook her head at their ongoing actions before she moved to pull them apart; a long, flowing gown of gold material hugged off her shoulders and clung to the subtle curves of her body. "You know, when Oscar asked me to come in and check on you two, I thought he was just overreacting; I can see exactly what he meant now."

"Hey, hey... we left our weapons outside- like he requested." Boyd replied. "The worst we could do is probably... strangle one another, but the wedding starts in ten minutes and that's not enough time to hide an unconscious body; not to mention, these stupid ties are doing enough of the strangling, it would be half a job to finish."

Titania offered a light chuckle before she moved to correct his hair, trying to make it more presentable at the last minute. "Can't you wait until after the ceremony and beat each other up during the speeches?"

"Only if he wrote something good."

"Good thing I wrote a bunch of heart-warming memories to share." Ike remarked with a half-sarcastic tone. "Also good thing I wrote it down because, at this point, I'd probably be tempted to say something insulting instead."

"Well, I'm glad you two respect each other enough for that." the woman sighed. "But, do remember the ceremony starts soon and we'll be calling for you guys any minute now. I expect for you two to be on your best behaviors and these suits better look the same."

"Whatever you say, we promise." Boyd assured. "Now, if you don't mind, we have more things to discuss and... more threats to exchange. If you're going to go sit back with the others though, ask Oscar how his leg's doing? Tell him I'm just genuinely concerned for his well-being."

"He already knows you chose a fall month to irritate him."

"Damn, he's smarter than he looks."

* * *

><p>"I'm surprised at how well momma's dress fits you."<p>

"Hey now, just what is that supposed to mean?"

She chuckled briefly at the interaction before she looked back to where Yuina was helping to style her hair; pulling it back with a small silver clip that had been passed down through the female line. She insisted that she didn't need anything fancy-like for the ceremony but her mother was persistent with it, after all apparently everyone had worn the same clip on their wedding days for almost seven generations now. A story she hadn't heard of until now- suspiciously enough. "Are you two gonna argue all throughout the ceremony?"

"Yes, if I have to." Hina answered as hands found themselves on her slender hips. Her matching green strands, much lighter than her own, were pulled back into a neat braid that bounced on her shoulders. The bridesmaid dress was a simple pale peach color, which did seem to clash with her hair for a moment, but only up close really. She wasn't looking for anything extravagant, just something simple and not... attention-grabbing.

She still wasn't sure how to feel about the ceremony, even as small as it was... she didn't like the attention being put on her for a long period of time; she didn't like everyone staring at her... guess it was too late to change that though. She looked down at the white material of her wedding gown and moved to brush a few soft wrinkles out of it. The dress hugged her neck slightly but left a three-inch, square cut below her collarbones to keep it from feeling too constricted; a lighter fabric made up the sleeves of the dress and soft gold cuffs clipped around her wrists to keep them from rising up or falling down. It felt a little tight around her midsection and hips, but the skirt flowed into a beautiful wave of layered folds that eventually collected into a small train of fabric behind her. Her mother was still holding onto the white veil that would serve as the finishing piece, but she'd have to wait for Yuina to get done with her hair first before it could be put on.

There were still butterflies in her stomach.

Her head still felt like it was spinning as she tried to keep her grasp on the ongoing situation.

It just... all felt like a dream to be honest.

"Hellooo! Is the bride still in?"

The new voice was accompanied by someone pushing open the door behind them as the new guest welcomed themselves inside.

"I-I told you to knock!"

She turned back at the familiar voice and couldn't help but to chuckle lightly at the duo; she had to admit that the semi-formal ware did not fit them at all, if anything, it made them look just a tad bit ridiculous.

"Look at you, how adorable." Heather grinned as she made her way across the room. A dark-blue dress stuck to her slender form like a second skin, the material even curving down with her thighs- it looked just about impossible to walk in but the thief managed to make it look easy. Her long, blonde strands were loosely pulled around to the back of her neck to reveal a neatly wrapped choker. "Is it too late to run down the aisle and claim you for my own?"

"Not in front of my mother, please." Nephenee replied.

"Ooh, you should've told me you had sisters."

"We just wanted to sneak in and get a quick peek." Meg started as she pushed the door closed behind her; a faint pink dress fell over her with a matching sash tied around her waist, while a rather large bow adorned her right hip. She kept her hair pulled back into their usual pigtails, but allowed for a pair of dangling earrings to accessorize her outfit. "It was Heather's idea to bust in though."

She watched as the thief blew a light raspberry in response. "Don't worry about it, I ain't exactly something spectacular and the ceremony's about to start in a few minutes anyways."

"It won't if ya don't quit movin'!" Yuina remarked as she tried to fix the clip from where it had slightly dropped down.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down, we still have plenty of time." her mother assured as she gently pushed Yuina aside to take over the adjusting process. "Hina, Yuina, could you two go out for a moment and check on the boys? I'm afraid they might be settin' something on fire or breakin' something out there." she watched as the two nodded before they seemingly raced one another out the door. Shaking her head, she chuckled lightly and went back to carefully threading the locks of hair through the silver clip. "You know, I was thinkin' this morning, and I know you're gonna be married off in an hour, but you still gonna stick around for the fall harvest? We could still use the extra set of hands."

"Momma, I helped to plant and tend to those crops." Nephenee reminded. "I'm not just gonna leave 'em."

"Ha ha, good, that's a load off my chest then." the woman laughed. "Unless you're gonna be in the family way by that time, in which case we can't let you out in the working fields."

"Momma!"

Her startled reaction only seemed to fuel the woman's laughter as she continued to finish her hair. "What? I'm just saying... you were born almost exactly nine months after your father and I were married."

"I love these kind of stories." Heather chuckled. "My mother said I was born five months after they got married, I think it just about explains everything in my case. Then again the poor sucker took off when I was four and I never saw him again... that probably offers an even better explanation. Just as heads up though, I'm not entirely fond of children, so don't call me if you need someone to look after the little munchkins."

"You can always call me though." Meg offered.

She would've given a shake of her head at the ongoing topic but knew that it would only disrupt her mother's work at the moment. "Don't be expectin' any grandchildren any time soon, that's all I have ta tell ya."

"That's what they all say." her mother lightly sang.

* * *

><p>The field was filled with chairs and makeshift pews that were lined up almost evenly on both sides of the aisle; every seat was filled with a mix of family, friends and neighbors. Her brothers and mother were sitting on the front row on her side, while her sisters stood up front as bridesmaids; Brom's family were seated just behind them with some of their neighbors filling in the remaining chairs. Scattered members of the Greil's Mercenaries sat on the other side... all of them looking somewhat odd in formal suits rather than suits of armors, then again they looked odd without weapons alone. She was sure they were probably thinking the same thing about her though.<p>

She traded in her armor and lance for a wedding dress and ring.

"Gotta admit, that boy of yours looks a bit fancy without all that shining armor of his." Brom remarked as he carefully held to her arm that rested in the crook of his own.

She had asked him to walk her down the aisle in the absence of her own father and he had been more than happy to agree to; he had already walked five of his daughters down the aisle, so he knew the drill. Chuckling lightly, she moved with him as they started down the narrow walkway. "He never had shining armor since he never polished it."

"Ha ha, I suppose you got'a point." he laughed.

Every step took them closer towards the altar that was awaiting her at the end of the aisle. She still had her worries about it, she was pretty certain even at the closing distance between them that she was going to trip on her shoes and make an embarrassment out of herself. Luck seemed to be on her side though and she made it to the end without even a minor incident. She did catch herself smiling lightly at the sight of him standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her; that suit did look a little odd on him, but it was impressive just the same... he managed to pull the look off well.

It was still so strange...

It seemed like yesterday he was rescuing her from that Daein prison.

And now he was going to be her husband in a short while. Who knew that was even possible... if someone had told her this was going to be a possibility a few years back, she probably would've walked away embarrassed. He was the cute Warrior who was a part of the Mercenaries, she was just a girl far away from home who was caught up in the chaos of a matter outside of her knowledge.

"Hey now, I know that look."

She glanced away from her thoughts at the remark and noticed that grin of his; noticing how the two of them were standing face to face now as Brom stood off to the side.

"You two were talking about me, weren't you?"

"Just talkin' about how odd ya look in a suit." Brom answered and for once, she would've cursed his honesty on the matter.

"I wouldn't be the one talking." Boyd chuckled. "I mean, just look at you and everyone around us; I think someone should've told Mist that yellow wasn't her color."

"I heard that!"

"Mist, this is a wedding! Don't interrupt it." he called back to her. "Also, Rolf is just ruining the whole moment with his presence here."

She shook her head and carefully slipped her arm out of Brom's and lightly into his own that he had offered to her. "Just marry me already."

"We haven't even said 'I do' yet and she's already bossing me around."

She should've known that even an event such as this wouldn't be able to suppress his creative attitude and humor; he was always looking to get himself in trouble it would seem. But she felt the way his arm tightened lightly against her own as he guided her down the remaining steps of the aisle. She could feel herself chewing on her lower lip for a moment and had to force herself to stop doing so or ruin the lovely work Calill had put into helping her with the make up; she didn't really want it, but the fire Sage insisted and she couldn't tell her no after that. Glancing up briefly, she noticed the aged Priest smiling lightly at the two of them; he was a neighbor in this area and had married Brom and his wife many years before, which was probably why he was the first choice everyone offered when it came down to finding a holy man to perform the ceremony.

This is what it felt like to experience one of those life-changing moments.

So weightless.

So breathless.

_"Do you take this woman to be your wife? To have and to hold, from this day forever, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"_

"I do."

_"And do you take this man to be your husband? To have and to hold, from this day forever, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"_

"I do."


End file.
